Welcome back to Term 2! While we had a shortened first week, it was great to get back into the swing of things after the break.

In this post:

• Maths Clubs
• Writing extension opportunities
• Sports news
• High School info

Maths Clubs

Writing Extension opportunities

Write On School for Young Writers

The Write On 2023 Masterclass Series for Year 7-13 is offering the following for young writers in Term 2:

• World Building with Karen Healey, 
• Stranger Things with Desna Wallace, 
• Kickstart Your Fantasy Novel with Heather McQuillan 
• Speaking 4 The Planet speechwriting with Karen Healey
• Speaking 4 The Planet spoken word poetry with Ray Shipley. 

Do you have a young writer who would love to spend two hours every Saturday exercising their imagination and honing their craft? Write On have spaces still available. Find out more here.

Speaking for the Planet

The partnership of Sustainable Ōtautahi Christchurch and The New Zealand Association for Environmental Education is bringing the 2023 S4P competition to the schools and students of Canterbury, Aotearoa New Zealand. This competition is for school students from Years 7-13 and young people up to the age of 24.

There are five competition categories:

1. Prepared Speech – prepared speech, solo entries only.
2. Spoken Word – prepared poem, solo or duo entries.
3. Visual Art – prepared artwork, solo entries.
4. Impromptu Drama – 1 hour to prepare, maximum number of ten students per team.
5. Short Video – prepared video, no team number limit.

Speaking 4 the Planet is an opportunity for students to express their ideas for a better world. Participants are invited to prepare and deliver punchy, quirky, creative, and pointed submissions. Each competition category is divided into three age categories: Years 7-8, Years 9-11, and Open (Year 12 - Age 24). Registration is a requirement. There will be an environmental theme that all competitors must incorporate in their entries. Schools or individual senior students (Years 12+) will need to register by Friday 2 June by contacting Jocelyn Papprill at chchnzaee@gmail.com. Participation in the competition is free.

The Prepared Speech and Spoken Word heats will take place by video submission. Entries will be submitted by Monday 17 July, 5pm. The six finalists from each age division will be asked to perform on Finals Day. Visual Art entries must be submitted by Friday 30 June. Entries for Impromptu Drama close on Wednesday 26 July. Short Video entries must be submitted by Wednesday 19 July. The finals day will be held on Friday 11 August from 9am-5pm at Tūranga, 60 Cathedral Square, Christchurch Central City.

Participants are to produce or present items that are original. They are also invited to make their work quirky. There are great prizes sponsored by sustainable businesses up for grabs!

Sports News

Cross Country will be taking place in Week 3, on Tuesday. Pleas make sure students have suitable footwear on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week for our Cross Country training sessions.

High School info

At this time of the year, High School applications can start kicking into gear for Year 8s. If you need a report for you child, please get in touch with their homeroom teacher:

• Thomas: thomas.woodfield@beckenham.school.nz
• Nicky: nicky.dunlop@beckenham.school.nz
• Sarah: sarah.junghenn@beckenham.school.nz
• Bridie: bridie.zarifeh@beckenham.school.nz

Each year in Term 2, high schools share information for us to pass on to you. Now is a good time to look on the website of the schools you are interested in for your Year 8 child next year. Check out if they have an Open Day / Evening, check the enrollment procedures and you may like to check out scholarship information. We have received the following from Hagley College:

Thinking about Hagley for Year 9 2024? 10 key points about us:

• We're a Designated Character School. To join us, you must agree to engage with our culture and our values of Whakamarumaru (Responsibility), Mana (Respect), Whakawhirinaki (Trust) and Tika (Integrity). We also need to be confident that Hagley has the resources to support you in your learning, that there is a programme that will meet your needs, and that there is a place for you in that programme.
• We are a restorative school.
• We have an inclusive and diverse learning environment.
• We offer a connected curriculum.
• All Year 9 students have two hours of Te Reo Māori, two hours of Health and three hours of PE each week. They also all take English, Maths, Social Sciences and Science. Students also choose from a wide range of Kete Wana courses to complete their programmes.
• Social action and student leadership are actively promoted and celebrated.
• Our Targeted Learning class is very small. Only 2-3 places will be available for new students in 2024 due to returning students.
• GATE students are able to excel in their specialty fields.
• Enrolment for Year 9 2024 opens on 15 May 2023 and closes on 23 June 2023 at midday. It is essential to apply during this time.
• A ballot is usually required and will occur in early August 2023. Criteria for priority enrolment for those with family/whānau links to Hagley is on our website www.hagley.school.nz.

We have an Open Evening coming up on Wednesday 24 May with rolling starts at either 4.30 pm or 5.30 pm. Please see the attached flyer below.

Applications for Year 9 2024 will open online from 15 May, and close at midday on 23 June. Important information for students and whānau is available on our website here.

Our 2024 Junior College Lookbook is also available to download here.

For any other queries, or for those unable to complete an application online, parents/caregivers should contact Lisa Amer on lisa.amer@staff.hagley.school.nz or (03) 364 5134.

 In this post:

• No technology
• Sport term 2
• Animal dress-up day pics
• Passions pics

Technology

Sport in Term 2

SPCA Fundraiser

Passions

 In this post:

• Wainui Camp (and lost property remnants)
• ASB GetWise
• Non-uniform day on Friday
• Christchurch Schools Music Festival
• YouthTown
• Winter Sports and Cross Country

Wainui Camp

Teachers, parents, and students all had a wonderful time at Wainui Camp in week 6. The weather was mostly fantastic, the students all found ways to challenge and extend themselves while continually supporting and encouraging one another. It was great to see friendships develop and grow over the course of the week, and to see our learners flourish outside of the usual classroom confines.

Lost Property

We still have a small collection of lost property from our time away. Please encourage students to check carefully to make sure that nothing from our collection of assorted odds and ends belongs to them.

ASB GetWise

On Friday this week, we had Jeff from ASB GetWise come to discuss financial literacy with each homegroup. We will have a second session of this on Friday of Week 8.

Christchurch Schools’ Music Festival

The Representative groups are on stage in the Christchurch Town Hall for every performance of the Festival (4 nights).  With more than a thousand people in the audience and children in the choir stalls watching every night, it is an amazing experience they will never forget.

To find out more information or to register your child click here: https://musicfestival.school.nz/representative-group-information/joining-a-representative-group/

Be quick, registrations close Thu 06 April.

Youthtown

Youthtown is a non-profit organization that offers sports and recreation programs for youth in Christchurch.

Every Wednesday (from 3.30pm to 6pm) they run a program called YouthHub. It is a free after school program designed for youth between 12 and 18 years old.

In April 2023 Youthtown offers a memorable holiday programme in a safe space for young people to make friends and enjoy themselves during the school holidays. Please see the April holidays program flyer via this link (in this breakaway program some days might not be free).

Non-Uniform Day

The student council have planned an animal dress up day on Friday, to raise donations for the SPCA. Donations towards the SPCA could include items such as wet pet food (cans or sachets), old blankets towels or sheets, dishwashing detergent, washing powder, pet toys in good condition, or a gold coin. More information is available to students via the daily notices.

Winter Sports and Cross Country 

Our two main sporting events which require parent help in Term 2 are Cross Country and Winter Sport.

Parent help is a key part to us being able to offer sporting events at kura. If you are able to support us in some way in Term 2, please let us know by filling in this form.

Year 5 - 8 Cross Country - Tuesday 9th of May (Beckenham Park)

We need adults to take on the position of course marshals to ensure there is adequate supervision of the children on the course and to help children know which way to go.

Year 5 - 8 Weekly Winter Sports (starts on Thursday 25th May and runs for 10 weeks at local parks and schools).

We need adults that are comfortable taking a team and managing them during their games. Ideally that adult would also be OK refereeing a game. The number of adult helpers we have directly impacts the number of children we can send to winter sport. It is also beneficial to have additional adults to help supervise children during their game.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Ngā mihi
Thomas

 In this post:

• Swimming sports reminder
• Technology at CSKI
• Leadership Week

Our school swimming sports will be held at Whārenui Centre on Monday 27th February 12.30 to 2.30pm. Students who are participating will be leaving school by bus at 11.50am. Students have been told to have their swimwear on underneath their clothes, and will need to have their race numbers written on their hands. Please refer back to the Hero post that Sarah sent out on Tuesday for more information.

Technology at Christchurch South Karamata Intermediate School

We've had two fantastic weeks of Technology lessons at CSKI. Here are some photos from the Food & Nutrition class.

Leadership Week

BBQ Lunch: Sharpen the saw

 Kia ora koutou katoa,

In this post:

• Leadership positions
• Leadership Week
• Technology
• Swimming Sports
• Wainui camp update

It's been a great start to the year so far. We've had a wonderful time getting to know our learners.

Today we announced the Year 7 and 8 Leadership positions. It was great that everyone signed up for something, and we're really excited to see how the flourish as leaders this year. If any students have concerns, please get them to email their homeroom teacher and/or Thomas.

Leadership Week

Next week we have our highly-anticipated Leadership Week for all Year 7 and 8 students.

For Year 7 students, this will mean spending time in Junior Hubs (Kōwhai, Kahitkatea, and Koru) on either Thursday or Friday. On Wednesday Year 7s will be taking part in a range of activities to put their learning about the 7 Habits into action. On Wednesday, they will be allowed to wear their activewear.

For Year 8 students, they will need to wear their activewear on Thursday and Friday. On Thursday, students have an extra-long day at school with a range of leadership and teamwork activities, which includes a guest speaker, through to 5.30pm at which point we will provide dinner for the Year 8s. They will need their own lunch on this day, however. After dinner, we will head in to Margaret Mahy Playground using public buses, which means they will require $2.50 for the bus fare. We will be back at school and ready to be picked up by 9pm.  On Friday, Year 8 students will head to Spencer Park for the day for their own range of activities unpacking the 7 Habits. We will be providing lunch for the students on this day.

We're really looking forward to this opportunity to get to know our learners better and see them extend themselves in the process!

Technology

Next week we will also have our first technology session with (almost) all learners heading to Christchurch South Karamata Intermediate (CSKI). We will communicate with students on Monday about which group and tech specialisation they will have on Monday. With rebuilding currently taking place at CSKI, only three of the four groups will take the bus - one of the Year 7 groups will be taught at Beckenham by the fabulous fabrics teacher for Term 1. We have also received news today that the canteen is currently not operating. 

Swimming Sports

Sarah has gratefully received all the information sent through by parents for Swimming Sports and is working through the process of collating everything for the event on February 27th. She'll be in touch with more information to those involved next week.

Camp

The Year 7 and 8 camp to Wainui is also just around the corner - Monday March the 6th to 10th. We have sent emails to confirm with parents who have signed up to come along, and will be sending out a gear list, camp cost notification, and health form by the end of next week.

Thanks for a great first few weeks, and have a relaxing weekend ahead of next week's jam-packed schedule!

Ngā mihi
Thomas